Indian Autogas Company, a company engaged in the trading of auto LPG, has decided to put up its own storage facility to cash in on the booming demand for auto LPG in India. The company, which has been sourcing the fuel from a private player in India, is set to commission its own facility with a storage capacity of 10,000 tonne and with a daily pumping facility of 1,500 tonne at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra in October to cater to both automotive as well as industrial segments.
?Given the 100% growth in demand for auto LPG during the 2009-10, which rose to 3,60,000 tonne from 1,80,000 tonne the previous year, the company has decided to exploit the immense potential, particularly on the auto LPG front, by taking on lease this storage facility on a long-term basis from Finolex group to cater to regions like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Goa,? said SM Antony Thomas, chief executive officer, Indian Autogas.
?We have decided to import auto LPG from Iran Petroleum. To start with, we will import 3,000 tonne of auto LPG by October first week and subsequently increase it to 8,000 tonne by March and then to 10,000 tonne next financial year,” Thomas told FE. The company is currently sourcing 600 tonne of auto LPG from private players in India.
“The import auto LPG will be much cheaper as compared to domestic purchase and it will also help company to spread its wings across the country while meet its long requirement,” he said.
The company runs 28 exclusive auto LPG dispensing outlets across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh on a franchisee basis. The ambition of Indian Autogas is to have 1,000 outlets over the next five years across the country. Since we plan to set up these outlets on our own, the company will invest Rs 700 crore over the next five years. ?With little internal accruals, the company plans to borrow from FIs and partially through an IPO in 2013,? he added.